I did pen pals when I was younger with peoples from Japan, Taiwan, Florida, Indonesia, and other places. With the age of email, that kind of died out I guess. But I really do miss connecting with random people. I mean, the age of the 'chat room' has come and gone and the internet has now gone towards communicating people you already know (FB). I'd really like to do some communicating with new people :)

Beer and spicy mix for me.
Otherwise, I cannot usually combine food and alcohol. Once I eat something, I'm done. It's like my body suddenly recognises that alcohol is not really food and I can't down it anymore. Even wine with a meal is kind of unpalatable for me. I usually just quickly scarf down the wine and then eat.
But luckily, a half hour or so after eating, I'm good to drink again.